


Won't Stop, Don't Want to Go

by scorperion21



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Fairground, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confession, M/M, Summer, inspired by a song, rollercoaster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22363363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorperion21/pseuds/scorperion21
Summary: It takes a summer, a few car journeys, and one ride on a questionable Ferris wheel for Scorpius to realise how he feels about Albus.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 102
Collections: Scorbus Song Fics





	Won't Stop, Don't Want to Go

**Author's Note:**

> thank you @sunshinescorpius for organising this! the song i got was Rollercoaster by Bleachers - it's not one i heard before and to me it sounded like a fun, summer song to listen to on a road trip, so that's what i've tried to get across here!

Summer has always made Scorpius anxious, which he knows is strange. He used to get scared over the summers for a varying number of reasons; was scared that something would happen to Hogwarts and he wouldn’t be able to go back, was scared of the autumn term fast approaching which meant he would have to leave his parents again, was scared more than anything that Albus would forget about him. 

Now, though he’s scared of things he’s never been scared of before. He is fresh out of education, and scared about what the future will bring. He knows what he wants; he wants to be a Healer, but there are so many things he has to do before he gets there, and that means there are so many more things that could go wrong. 

The thing he’s scared of most this summer, are the strange and unbidden feelings that have risen up inside him about his best friend. Scorpius has always loved Albus, since they were eleven years old, but this summer it took them not being able to say “see you in September!” that made Scorpius realise that maybe he’s a little bit _in_ love with Albus too. 

He’d read in some book or another in the library this his mother is so carefully curating that “absence makes the heart grow fonder”, and apparently whichever Muggle had written that was right. Scorpius feels the absence of his best friend beside him like it’s physical, and it actually _hurts_ that Albus isn’t there. He misses Albus’ friendly and encouraging smile when Scorpius is nervous about something, misses Albus climbing into his bed in the middle of the night to comfort him after a nightmare, misses the easy laughs and kind looks that make his stomach squirm. He thought that was normal friend stuff for a little while, but then he realised that the amount of unhealthy thoughts he’d had about Albus’ mouth were probably not something friends had about each other. 

After that revelation, Scorpius didn’t write to Albus for a few days, before deciding that nothing had to change between them. If he had to settle to being Albus Potter’s best friend, then so be it. He would be more than happy with that. 

As Scorpius has been coming to terms with the whole “loving-my-best-friend-maybe-not-being-totally-straight" thing, Albus had been accomplishing life goals of his own. One of the things Albus had been determined to do since he turned 17 was learn to drive a Muggle car – and he managed it exceptionally well. He took to driving the way the rest of the Potters took to flying, and just after they had broken up from their last year at Hogwarts, had passed a Muggle driving test. Scorpius remembers the evening that Albus had first pulled up outside the Malfoy’s in his brand new car (brand new for him; but actually second hand and with a little wear and tear) and proudly told Scorpius he’d passed – and without even having to confund the examiner! (Draco had look a little aghast at this, before Scorpius gently repeated that he _hadn’t)._

Now, Albus turns up at Scorpius’ house on the regular to go driving, and Scorpius looks forward to those evenings so much his heart almost aches when he thinks about them, because for one shining moment it’s like having his best friend back properly; Albus is just there for him, like he was at school. Those evenings also made Scorpius realise how stupid he had been before, for not noticing his feelings for Albus before. The endless miles they had travelled, sometimes in silence (Albus is still a little nervous about driving), sometimes singing at the top of their lungs, sometimes laughing about nothing, had become some of his most precious memories. That had made him see that nearly all of his most special memories had Albus in them in some capacity. 

His parents always tease him slightly, for on an evening where Albus _is_ turning up to whisk him away, Scorpius always scampers upstairs straight after dinner to get changed and sit in his window so he’ll know as soon as Albus arrives. He’s stopped telling them actually, when he’s going out with Albus because they always seem to know, and it’s not like anyone else regularly calls to the house. He’s fairly certain he’ll never see anyone from his Hogwarts days again aside from Albus (and thereby Albus’ entire extended family which, to be fair, is actually quite a lot of the Hogwarts students that Scorpius interacted with). 

It has been a couple of weeks since Scorpius last saw Albus; Albus has been busy with his apprenticeship with the magizoologist he’s been working with, and Scorpius has been busy preparing for his Healer interview. It’s almost the longest they’ve gone without seeing each other, and Scorpius can’t _wait_ to see his best friend. He practically runs down the stairs from his bedroom as soon as he sees Albus’ headlights turn into the driveway. Before he goes out of the front door though (no matter how much he can’t wait), he goes to find his parents to say goodbye. 

“You look nice! I thought you were only going out with Albus?” Draco says as Scorpius comes into the sitting room. 

“I am.” Scorpius says, self-consciously tugging the bottom of his shirt. It is one of his fairly nicer ones, but Albus never tells him where they’re going until he gets in the car and he doesn’t want to be caught short in case they go somewhere fancy. (He doesn’t think fancy is Albus’s style, but stranger things have happened). 

“Leave Scorpius alone, he can wear what he wants.” Astoria says kindly, her eyes twinkling. 

Sometimes, Scorpius has the sneaking suspicion this his mum suspects his feelings for Albus. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise him if she knew about them before he did. 

“I was just saying he looked nice!” 

Scorpius interrupts before his parents start their friendly bickering. “I’ve just come to say bye, Albus is here.” 

“Oh, we’ll come and say hello to him before you go out.” Astoria says, standing up; Draco follows suit. 

“He’s not in the house.” Scorpius says quickly. 

“How do you know he’s here then?” Astoria asks playfully. 

“I saw him pull up on the driveway.” 

“You’re not going out in the car again are you?” Draco asks, frowning. Scorpius feels himself bristling; his dad has been oddly opposed to Albus and Scorpius driving around, even though they’ve done it plenty of times this summer. 

“Of course we are! What do you hate about Albus’ driving so much?” Scorpius exclaims. 

“I don’t hate _Albus’_ driving specifically, I just think that there are much better ways to travel!” 

“But that’s not fair-“ Scorpius starts, but Astoria holds her hands up and Scorpius falls silent. Arguments between Scorpius and his dad are rare, but Astoria always tries to put a stop to them when she can; especially this one, as they’ve had it before when Albus has picked Scorpius up. 

“Scorpius, will you promise us travelling like this is safe?” Draco’s voice is concerned as he looks at his son, and Scorpius softens. He knows he would be anxious if someone he loved was doing something he wasn’t familiar with. 

“Of course it’s safe, Albus is the safest driver I know!” Scorpius says reassuringly. 

“Albus is the _only_ driver you know.” Astoria points out. 

“That’s not the point!” Scorpius says, and Astoria laughs as Draco rolls his eyes (but smiling, Scorpius notes). 

“I’ve really got to go!” Scorpius insists, looking to his dad pleadingly; he hates parting on a sour note. 

Draco just smiles and nods, and pulls Scorpius into a hug. Scorpius hugs him back tightly. 

“Okay, have fun!” Draco says once Scorpius pulls away. 

“Have fun sweetheart.” Astoria says, pulling Scorpius towards her too and pressing a swift kiss to his forehead. 

“Thank you! Love you, bye!” Scorpius shouts over his shoulder as he turns away from his parents, grabs his bag and careers down the stairs and out of the house. He skids to a stop in the driveway by the side of Albus’ car, and waves both his hands at Albus through the window. Sometimes, he thinks he should be embarrassed about how enthusiastically he greets his best friend, but Albus never seems to mind. Actually, Albus’ face splits into a grin, and he waves back. 

“Hi!” Scorpius says, opening the passenger side door and sliding into the seat. 

“Hi Scor. Seatbelt!” Albus says by way of greeting. 

“Done it!” Scorpius says, poking his tongue out at Albus; the first few times they had gone on a drive, Scorpius kept forgetting to fasten his seatbelt. He remembers it now, but Albus still teases him about it. He doesn’t mind. Albus laughs as he checks his mirrors and pulls out of the driveway. 

“Where are we going?” Scorpius asks. 

“It’s a surprise!” Albus says. Scorpius groans. 

“Albus, I hate surprises!” 

“I know but I think this is a good one, I promise.” Albus says sincerely, and Scorpius huffs out a sigh but decides to believe him. They still drive in relative silence; Albus is getting more confident with driving without his instructor, but sometimes when they talk he trails off in the middle of sentences or loses his train of thought if they reach somewhere he has to concentrate more on. Scorpius doesn’t mind; he likes watching the world go by out of the window. 

Right now, Scorpius fiddles with the radio dials on the car, and finally settles when he hears a song he vaguely recognises. He knows that Albus’ grandad did some tinkering when Albus got the car, and the radio gets wizarding radio stations as well as Muggle. He daren’t ask what else has been upgraded; he’s heard about what Arthur did to his Ford Anglia and Scorpius doesn’t fancy flying invisibly through the air. 

“Mind if I turn the music up? I love this song!” Albus asks. 

“No, go for it.” Scorpius says, and Albus turns the music up. He sings along quietly, and Scorpius watches him, his tummy squirming pleasantly. Scorpius has been aware of Albus’ handsomeness for years, but it’s these quiet moments when Albus is simply being himself that Scorpius is hit by how beautiful he is too. 

He doesn’t want to stare too long though, lest he gets caught, and turns his attention back out of the window. There are no clues as to where they are going; they are on a tree-lined road devoid of signs and other people, and all Scorpius can really see is the road up ahead and the stars in the sky. 

“How far away is this secret place you won’t tell me about?” Scorpius asks once the song has finished and Albus has stopped singing. 

“Just a bit further.” Albus answers cryptically. 

“Al!” Scorpius whines, hoping he can pity Albus into telling him. 

“Scor!” Albus whines back, copying his pitch exactly, and Scorpius can’t help the laugh that escapes him. The road seems to be relatively straight at the moment, so Scorpius decides Albus might be okay to talk for a little bit. 

“I found a book in the library that has a list of car games in it, do you want to play one?” Scorpius asks; he thinks anyone else on the planet would think this is silly, but he knows Albus much better than that. 

“Sure.” Albus says, and even from his side profile Scorpius can tell that he’s smiling. 

“Okay, I found one called would you rather and you have to ask the other person a question between two things and they _have_ to answer okay?” Scorpius says (he would never admit this to anyone, even Albus, but he has been thinking of scenarios all week in case the situation arose in which he could play this game). 

“Okay, I got it. You go first.” Albus says. 

“Would you rather… have mountain trolls legs instead of your normal legs, or your legs with a mountain troll body?” Scorpius asks, and he’s not expecting the peals of laughter that erupt from Albus’ mouth. 

“What?” Scorpius asks, mystified. 

“I thought it was going to be stuff like would you rather be hot or cold?” Albus says, and Scorpius rolls his eyes but smiles. 

“No! You have to ask silly questions that’s the point!” he exclaims. 

“Okay, okay… er I think I’d rather have my body with mountain troll legs.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah! How cool would that be, then I could just step on people that get on my nerves.” Albus says. 

“Wow, remind me never to get on your bad side.” Scorpius says, and Albus smiles again. 

“You could never.” he says softly; Scorpius isn’t quite sure what to say to that. 

“It’s your turn!” he decides on, and Albus nods contemplatively. 

“Would you rather be able to speak to animals or read people’s minds?” Albus asks. 

“Animals!” Scorpius says without hesitation, and Albus laughs. 

“Yeah, I should have guessed that.” he says, and Scorpius laughs too. They ask more silly questions for about half an hour until Albus trails off the middle of “would you rather have snakes instead of fingers or…” as he turns into a small car park. 

“Are we here?” Scorpius asks, looking wildly around. There is nothing here apart from other people and cars, and Scorpius is annoyed with himself for being so invested in the game that he forgot to keep a look out for signs. 

“Yep, come one.” Albus says once they’ve parked. Scorpius quickly gets out of the car, eager to see where they’re going. The crowds of people seem to be moving in the same direction, and sure enough Albus starts walking that way too. Scorpius scampers enthusiastically after him, and it doesn’t take too long before he can hear jaunty music, smell a number of different foods, and see the unmistakable outline of a Ferris wheel. 

“Oh my gosh Albus, are we at a fairground?” Scorpius gabbles excitedly, grabbing Albus’ arm in his delight. 

“Yeah, is that okay?” Albus asks, looking unsure all of a sudden. 

“I love it!” Scorpius is quick to reassure him. “I haven’t been to a fairground for so long!” 

“Okay, that’s good.” Albus sounds relieved, and Scorpius shoots him a bright smile to let him know that it really is okay. He hates that Albus second guesses himself all the time, and wishes that he wouldn’t. He thinks Albus should know by now that he is never disappointed, or upset, or would think anywhere that Albus decides to take him is anything less than okay. 

“What do you want to do first?” Scorpius asks as they enter the fairground, the crowds thickening and the sounds and smells increasing tenfold. 

“It’s up to you!” Albus says, and Scorpius smiles as he looks around in indecision. 

“I want to win one of those giant stuffed bears.” Scorpius says delightedly, spotting a booth with the brightly coloured animals hanging up outside it. 

“Of course you do, come on then!” Albus says, linking his arm with Scorpius’ and dragging him across to the booth. Scorpius can feel a flush heating his cheeks, but he supposes that Albus is only doing that so they don’t get separated. Scorpius scrabbles in his bag for some muggle money he always keeps on hand just in case and, after having a quick and quiet word with Albus so he hands over the right amount, pays for five goes. 

Scorpius is rubbish at the game, and on his second to last go has only managed to knock a grand total of three tins down with the heavy rubber ball he’s been given. 

“I’m so bad at this!” Scorpius wails, turning to look at Albus with pleading eyes. 

“What?” Albus asks, and then seems to understand what he’s asking. “Okay, I’ll have your last go but I can guarantee I’m not going to be any better!” 

“You were a Beater on the Slytherin Quidditch team for three years Albus, you’ve got to have _some_ sort of hand eye co-ordination.” Scorpius hisses, speaking quietly for the sake of the Muggles around them. Albus shakes his head ruefully, but in seconds he has knocked all the tins down. 

“I did it!” Albus looks shocked, but pleased, as the teenager manning the stall hands over an emerald green stuffed bear. 

“I knew you would.” Scorpius says, and Albus presents the bear to him with a flourish. 

“I can’t take him, Al you won him fair and square!” Scorpius insists. 

“I won it for you, you moron.” Albus says, rolling his eyes, and Scorpius smiles and takes it. 

“Thank you.” 

“It’s okay, now come on let’s have a look around!” Albus says, and Scorpius is almost a little upset that Albus doesn’t link arms with him again. 

They walk around the fairground, trying their hand at a few other games (unsurprisingly, they’re rubbish at everything else), eating candyfloss and hot donuts, and even wait in line for the ghost train (Scorpius would never admit it to anyone, but he had his eyes shut tight the whole way round). 

Scorpius is having more fun than he can ever remember having in his whole life, and he never wants this night to end. He would even brave another go on the ghost train if it meant they didn’t have to go home yet. 

“Would you be okay if we went on the Ferris wheel?” Albus asks as they turn a corner and see the imposing structure in front of them. Scorpius is a little bit scared of heights, watching Albus in the Quidditch matches was just about his limit, but he would do anything to keep the night going. 

“Let’s do it!” Scorpius grins enthusiastically, and Albus pays for both their tickets as they get into the line. They’re not queueing for very long before they are ushered into a small and enclosed seat. Scorpius squishes the bear across his lap and pulls down the bar as the wheel continues to slowly rotate. 

“This okay?” Albus asks, and Scorpius looks at him to see a concerned look on his face. 

“Yeah, its fine I promise.” Scorpius says, smiling slightly, and Albus nods. 

“Good.” 

Scorpius is surprised to realise that actually it _is_ fine; although they can’t see much far away, they can see across the whole of the fair ground, and if he looks up he can see the stars shining so closely he feels like he would be able to reach out and touch one. 

Just as they reach the peak of the circle, the Ferris wheel judders and comes to a stop. Scorpius’ whimsical mood comes crashing down to Earth. 

“Why has it stopped?” Scorpius says, and he can hear his voice panicking already as he looks down over the side of the carriage to see what’s going on; he realises this was a mistake though as he feels a swooping in his stomach when he takes in how high up they are. He snaps his head into an upright position, and can feel his heart beating fast. 

“It’s okay Scor, I’m sure it’s fine.” Albus says soothingly. 

“We’re so high up.” Scorpius exclaims, way past panicked as he chances a peek to the ground again. 

“Stop looking!” Albus exclaims, and Scorpius inhales sharply at how loud his voice is. 

“Sorry, sorry.” Albus amends quickly, and then he re-arranges the bear on Scorpius’ lap and slips his hand into Scorpius’. “Take a deep breath, it’s going to be okay.” 

Scorpius does as he’s told, inhales and exhales deeply, and tries to focus on the feel of Albus’ hand in his instead of the blind panic that has encompassed him. 

“That’s it. I promise you’re safe.” Albus says quietly, and Scorpius nods, squeezing Albus’ hand tightly. He knows he’s being silly; after all, if anything did happed and they fell, he’s got his wand in his pocket so he knows he’d be able to do _something_. 

There’s a faint static sound from below before a voice floats up to them, amplified by those cone things that Muggles use to make announcements. 

“Apologies for the delay, we should have everything up and running again soon. Hang tight.” the voice says, and beside Scorpius, Albus scoffs. 

“Hang tight? What does he expect us to do?” Albus says, and Scorpius would normally laugh or make a quip back about how they’re wizards, but he’s not quite in the mood yet. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Albus asks him softly, squeezing his hand again. Scorpius supposes the fact that he hasn’t noticed Albus is still holding his hand is an inkling that perhaps he’s not. 

“It’s just high up.” Scorpius says, biting his lip and peeking over the side again. 

“Stop looking down then, and look up instead.” Albus suggests, and Scorpius glances at him to see that he’s doing exactly that. Scorpius joins him, tilting his head until all he can see is the sky. 

“That’s it.” Albus continues. “And we’re back on the Astronomy tower at Hogwarts just waiting for a meteor shower or something.” 

Scorpius stares until he feels his heartbeat calm down slightly; aside from the music from below and the slight swaying of the seat, they really _could_ just be on the Astronomy tower. 

“Thanks Al, you’re the best.” Scorpius says after a couple of minutes, and he looks at Albus with a start; Albus is already looking at him. 

“What?” Scorpius asks, startled. 

“Nothing. Just… sometimes I really miss being at Hogwarts with you.” Albus says honestly. Scorpius is a little dumbfounded; Albus usually likes to keep things bottled up and it usually takes Scorpius a little longer to prise something out of him than one question. 

“I miss being at Hogwarts with you too.” Scorpius says honestly; because he does. He misses waking up every day to Albus’ sleepy face smiling at him from the next bed, he misses playing chess and exploding snap in the common room, he misses sharing every meal with him. 

Albus smiles, a little sadly, and the he looks back out at the sky. Scorpius watches him for a second, and realises that he’s never going to be able to move on, or even be truly happy, if he doesn’t tell Albus how he feels. He shuffles a little closer to Albus on the seat, it swinging precariously as he does, and squeezes Albus’ hand again. 

“Al?” Scorpius says softly, and Albus turns to look at him again. Scorpius stays silent for a second, trying to decide best how to say what he feels. Albus doesn’t rush him, just smiles encouragingly. Scorpius realises this is perhaps one of his favourite things about Albus; Albus never humours him, or pushes him, or expects anything more than Scorpius is ready to give or impart. 

“Albus, do you think this summer has been weird?” 

“How do you mean weird?” Albus asks, sounding genuinely intrigued and interested. 

“I just mean... every other summer I’ve been to your house and you’ve been to mine, and every time we said goodbye we knew when we’d see each other again. And we knew that even if it was our last summer get together, then we were going to go back to Hogwarts on the 1st of September and we’d see each other then. I guess what I’m saying is that I just worry every time you drive away that you’ll forget about me and I’m not going to see you again.” Scorpius says, switching his gaze between Albus and the night sky, a little embarrassed about his confession. 

“Scor...” Albus sighs, and Scorpius focuses back on his open and honest face. “I promise I’m never ever just going to forget you. You’re the best friend I ever had, and the most important person in my life and every time I drive away the only thing I’m thinking about is coming back.” 

“Really?” 

“Really.” Albus says, smiling, and Scorpius smiles back. They sit in silence, staring at the sky, and it takes a couple of minutes but Scorpius realises they’re still holding hands. And he hasn’t been entirely honest. 

“Albus, what you said before... about us being best friends? Well you’re the most important person in my life too and I don’t think that that’s... I don’t think that that’s friendship. I think that that’s... I know it’s love. For me anyway. I love you.” Scorpius chances a glance at Albus, who looks slightly slack-jawed and dazed. He doesn’t say anything, and Scorpius pulls his hand out of Albus’, shuffling slightly and looking away again. He can feel tears stinging his eyes out of his own stupidity until he feels Albus’ hands on his cheeks, forcing him back to look in Albus’ eyes. 

“I love you too. I love you so much. I just don’t think I realised it properly until this summer.” Albus says, and Scorpius’s heart skips a beat. 

“Really?” Scorpius asks again, and Albus nods, shuffling up to Scorpius and sweeping his thumbs across Scorpius’ cheeks. Scorpius is smiling so hard he hadn’t realised that a few stray tears of happiness had rolled down his cheeks too. “I didn’t realise it until this summer either!” 

“We’re both a bit stupid aren’t we?” Albus asks, and Scorpius laughs a watery laugh. 

The Ferris wheel shudders back into life, and they slowly start turning back to earth. There’s a shout of joy from the other people on the ride, and Scorpius feels like joining in – but for a very different reason. Albus is smiling coyly. 

“Would you rather I kiss you now, or wait until we’re on the ground?” he asks softly, and Scorpius lets out an unattractive snort of laughter. 

“Now please, that would be very nice.” he says in a rush to cover it up, and Albus grins at him before kissing him softly. Scorpius feels his stomach swoop, and even though he’s not really sure how, he kisses Albus back clumsily, one hand resting on the bar of the carriage, the other coming up to cover Albus’ hand. Even when Albus pulls away, Scorpius keep his eyes closed, savouring the moment. When he opens them, Albus is looking at him with such tenderness and fondness it makes his heart ache with happiness. 

“Are you two getting off or...” says a voice from beside Scorpius, making him jump. He hadn’t realised it but they’ve completed their circuit on the Ferris wheel and have reached the ground again. 

“Yes, yes, sorry!” Scorpius scrambles out of the seat, Albus following suit. Once they’ve both got feet on solid ground, Albus slips his hand into Scorpius’ again. Scorpius smiles, and swings their joint hands freely between them as they walk. 

“Even though it has been a bit weird, I think this might be my favourite summer ever.” Albus says. 

“Really?” Scorpius asks. 

“Yep.” Albus says. “Even though it’s scary, we’ve got our whole lives ahead of us and now, now there’s _this.”_

Scorpius doesn’t need to ask what he means, because he gets it and smiles. Without really discussing it, they start heading back towards the carpark, and Albus’ car. 

“I think... I think we need to talk about this properly.” Scorpius says, and Albus nods seriously. 

“I think that sounds like a good idea.” he says, and Scorpius can’t help himself; he leans over and presses a kiss to Albus’ cheek. 

“Love you.” Albus says, and Scorpius grins. He doesn’t think he’s _ever_ going to get used to hearing that. 

“Love you too.” Scorpius grins, and Albus kisses him softly. They’ve reached Albus’ car, and he opens the door for Scorpius with a dramatic bow. Scorpius laughs, and climbs inside, arranging his bear at his feet as Albus goes round the other side of the car and gets in too. 

“Right, home?” Albus says, shifting the car into gear and looking into the mirrors. 

“Not yet. We should discuss everything, but not right now. I don’t want to go yet, I’m not ready for this evening to end.” 

“Right you are Scor, where do you want to go?” 

“Anywhere, as long as I’m with you.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated.
> 
> You can find me on Twitter at: @scorperion21


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